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Aldarion's House
Aldarion's House was the ancient villa of Aldarion, the Founder of Lond Daer. The Ruins of Aldarion's House in the third Age Aldarion's house is the only ruin that retains any of the grandeur that was once Lond Daer, even though virtually all of its fixtures have decayed and disappeared. Entered through a sewer shaft, the ruins are entirely filled with water. The enclosed nature of the place has prevented sea life from completely obliterating the details of its interior. Exploring will, however, stir up the mud on the floor and gradually reduce the visibility to near zero. More importantly, the ruins have become the focus of a strange and complex magical spell. The Alarkadari When rumors of Ar-Pharazon's plans to assail the Valar first spread through Numenor, various seers and sensible folk foresaw the doom that would befall the land and conceived of methods to avoid it. One mystic, Ermithdin of Alarkadar, determined a way to pass his family into a "safe-world" at the edge of the Void through a passage he'd created with his magics. He had even summoned up what he thought was a magical dwelling place where they could be protected from harm until the fury of the Valar subsided and he could open another door leading to some place of safety in Endor. Ermithdin's experiments, however, had gone dreadfully awry. He, his wife, and three adult children escaped the drowning of Númenor by magically transporting themselves into the realm of shadow, the dark place of wraiths, wights, and tainted spirits. They have been essentially dead and damned for all the ensuing centuries, maintaining only the illusion of life. The Mard Aldarion, being a large, highly magicked building lying in the general direction of the safety Ermithdin sought, attracted his magical probes, and the family now lives there in a shadow image of the ancient Númenorean life-style. They sustain themselves from stores that seem magically replenished every day, not knowing how much time has passed since the Akallabeth, waiting patiendy for some deliverance from their fate. The family members are: *Ermithdin of Alarkadar *Melian of Alarkadar *Barach of Alarkadar *Ercamir of Alarkadar *Corianna of Alarkadar After an exploring party enters the servants' quarters one or more characters pass into the shadow realm and can explore the Mard Aldarion as it once appeared. The doors noted on the floor-plan are intact, and the location of the five demi-wights who used to be the Alarkadari are there to be located. The characters in the shadow-plane will not have to worry about breathing until they cause the demi-wights lose control of their delusions. They can use a detection spell to reveal the truth behind the mirage around them (or simply concentrate and deny it). If they pass this information on to the Alarkadari, or simply let slip how much time has passed since the Akallabeth, the family panics; the pleasant Númenorean facade of the Alarkadari's prison will began to fade; everyone involved will solidify into the real world and the mortals involved will have to figure out how to breath water again. They will lose I Constitution point for every hour spent in the shadow-realm and I more for every 10 minutes in the company of the demi-wights. Anyone who spends more than a few minutes in the shadow-plane will gain a higher skill in Numenorean culture and a permanent bonus to any Perception maneuver involving undead. Adventurers not transferred to the shadow-realm can track of their comrades using detection spells or Very Hard Perception maneuvers on their psychic residue. Telepathic magic can be used to pick up snatches of conversation from the other side They feel a constant sense of dread when in a room occupied by the demiwights, even though they will not be able to see them until the illusion is broken and everyone materializes completely. The three male Alarkadari will berzerkly attack anyone in the house. Melian will try to get to the main staircase in the middle of the first basement and tear herself to pieces trying to claw her way through the rubble up the staircase. Corianna, if anyone has been kind to her, will simply beg that person to put an end to her existence. The Basement In addition to the Alarkadari, the following random encounters may be checked for in each room. *Shark *Stonefish *Frond Creature *Giant Slug *Glitters *Walking Frond *Cloud of Small Fish I. Lair. A stone formation in a mudbank ( Terrain Surrounding the Ruins, #13) is the home of a very large and mean eel, but it also is the upper casing of a 3' wide, 40' deep waterfilled shaft leading down into the city sewers. The casing is cracked, allowing sea life in to the shaft, but the hatch at the top is intact. Slots carved into the masonry of the shaft act as a ladder. About halfway down the passage, a keep 2' diameter side shaft opens into the privy tank of the first basement of Aldarion's house. From the 10' square tank, now thankfully empty, one can enter the privy by climbing another slot ladder up and through a two-hole commode. Numerous small, big-eyed fish dwell here, but they are not dangerous. Two other side-shafts below the first are blocked by rubble. At the bottom of the vertical shaft, a larger passage opens, leading northeast. It is blocked by a passage-web (see Terrain Surrounding the Ruins, #23). If the drain to to the privy is blocked at some point and the cracks in the upper shaft are sealed, the shaft can be pumped dry. No amount of pumping can clear out the vast volume of water flooding the Mard Aldarion, so exploring it will probably require water-breathing magic. 2. Sleeping Quarters. A common dormitory for servants, now the home of many sea urchins. This door and all other standard doors in these two basements have rotted away. They still exist, however, in the shadow realm, which someone will soon visit. As soon as three explorers are in this room, or if one or two are in or beyond the chambet for at least a full three minutes, all must resist a Essence attack—one of Ermithdin's "passage" spells—or be shifted into another dimension, leaving only a swirl of silty water behind. Magical detection will vaguely reveal the presences of the missing characters. The balance ofthe party will be free to enter the ruins. 3. Hallway. In the mud, someone will note a brooch. It is Corianna's and through some slippage of the planes it fell here during her passage from Numenor. 4. Suite. A suite for some minor visiting dignitary; very silted up. 5. Suites. Similar but smaller suites. Barach, Ercamir, and Corianna each sleep in one when not otherwise occupied. 6. Back Hall 7. Three Main Stairways. Now disordered jumbles of stone. Noises of daily life sometimes ) filter down these stairways, but digging at them only causes small landslides. 8. Central Hall. Once quite impressive. 9. Front HalL 10. Guardroom. The main guardroom for this level. II . Basement Armory. Several dozen feet of wire bowstring can be found in a spool on the floor. At the back of the room, at the center of the complex, there is a swirling in the water. This is an elemental, Ermithdin's familiar; it acts as the power source for his more complex magic. It is not hostile, unless attacked, and will make the water within 5' of it "breathable" by humans if needed. It communicates through empathy. When its master goes berserk, it will intervene and aid in destroying him. After the explorers are safe, it will express strong feelings of regret and then fade away to the Void. 12. Guard Quarters. A dagger blade and two mithril alloy arrow heads are scattered about. 13. Chamber. Practice and recreational room for the guards. Ercamir is working out here. 14. Common Room. For the apprentice smiths. Has been converted to a kitchen in the shadow-realm. There is a smell of mutton constandy in the water. 15. Smithy. Barach is polishing illusionary armor here. A set of taps and dies for shaping delicate metal hangs on the wall. It is of fine, hard, steel that adds to forge work. 16. Forge. A small fire elemental is trapped here, and there is a stream of warm water rising from the forge. If the elemental is teleased by tinkerers, it fights its way past them, trying to locate an exit. Only if it escapes to the air can it get hot enough to leave this plane for its own. 17. Metals Vault, For the smithy. The lock still functions and is Extremely Hard to operate. The needle trap also works, but its poison faded long ago. There are bars of copper, bronze, and silver present, worth 45 gp. 18. Head Smith's Room. An elabotate aluminum chandelier is still hanging; it is worth about 50 gp. 19. Suite of the Chief Butler. This is where Ermithdin and Melian sleep; she spends most of her day here. 20. Secret Door. Located at the far end of the butler's closet with stairs leading down. It has ceramic facing to blend in with the wall tiles, and has not decayed like the other doors. It is Very Hard to discern, and Very Hard to unlock. The Symbol of Absolution which waits behind the door is Hard to avoid. Avoiding the symbol and proceeding down the stairs makes it Extremely Hard to notice another trap, a deadfall ceiling trap for adouble damage. The stone will also effectively block the stairs. If the later trap is detected, it is Routine to use a prop to disarm it. Second Basement I. Sewer Pipe. 2. Chamber. A large number of screws and braces indicate that furniture was stored here. 3. Private Conference Rooms. 4. Storage. The stacked metal rods would show that maps were stored here. 5. Corridor. 6. Larger Conference Room. In the shadow-realm, it is used as Ermithdin's lab. A tapestry on the wall exists in both realms. It depicts a Numenorean pastoral scene, but anyone looking closely tends to see things in the scene familiar and pleasant to himself. Looking upon the tapestry with cynicism and disbelief causes flickering images of the shadow-realm to appear, evil spirits and dead-faced horrors. Anyone seeing such must resist Fear or lose from both his Presence and Intelligence stats for a month. Missing causes gibbering and stunned insanity. Describing the vision afterward will be impossible. 7. Chamber. Shelves suggest an annex to the library. 8. Chamber. Several silver spoons and the marble base of an urn hint that light meals were prepared here. 9. Hallway. 10. Front Hall. Connected to two of the main stairways. 11. Secret Conference Room. Unless magic is performed here, it is Sheer Folly to notice that the veins of the marble walls are tinted an odd greenish-violet. That is because they are laced with the extremely rare mineral known as kregora which severely obstructs any manipulation of the Essence. This feature would have made the room immune to any magical eavesdropping. If the marble could somehow be salvaged, it would be worth at least 2000 gp. 12. Side Hall. Connected to the other stairwell. 13. Chamber. A long narrow room with red lines on the floor. There are four perfectly spherical marble balls scattered about the floor. Their function is a complete mystery. 14. Large Secret Room. The magic cast in this room has "bent" a hermit crab, expanding it to giant size. The crab has been feeding on virtually nothing but residual magic for many years. Anyone entering the room gets an empathic sensation of extreme, angry hunger. This gives them time to prepare before the crab rises out of the debris at the west end of the room and attacks. 15. Double Secret Doors. They are Extremely Hard to find on both sides, and the locks are Sheer Folly to open. The trap still operates, but its poison gas will not be effective underwater. 16. Chamber. On an ebony pedestal in the secret room is a large crystal rhombus. This is a primitive version of a Palantir; it acts as a multiplier for Seer and other scrying spells. Unfortunately, the stone has been aligned to this location and jarred by earthquakes. Nothing can be seen in it save for a scene of clowns and mimes working in the streets of Lond Daer. It would take an extremely talented Alchemist the rest ofhis life to re-align the stone. For their aesthetic value, the rhombus and its base would be worth 100-500 gp depending on the buyer. 17. Passage. From the head butler's chambers (#20 above). Category:Redirect Category:Ruin Category:MERP